Soyfoods are hot - or not - depending on whom you believe. Soy, superstar of healthy alternatives, has been under attack. The Internet is a great resource for news and information about health and science and 87 percent of online users have researched a scientific topic at one time or another.¹ The Internet is also where sensationalistic claims based on half-truths and junk science, are legion.

There’s no denying that the mighty soybean is a nutrition powerhouse, containing high quality protein, complex carbohydrates and a virtual pharmacopeia of phytochemicals credited with the prevention of coronary heart disease, hypertension and many forms of cancer.²

Soyfoods’ appeal was once limited to the counter-culture. In recent years, interest in the health benefits of soy intensified in the research community and the popularity of soyfoods skyrocketed.

As momentum heightened, soy products entered mainstream America and another phenomenon emerged, soy bashing. The astounding claims made by the bean-bashers have created unnecessary anxiety and apprehension among many health conscious consumers. Soybeans are full of toxins, they say and contain “anti-nutrients.” Eating soy, causes infertility, cancer, Alzheimer’s and stimulates young boys to grow breasts.

Naturally occurring plant compounds called phytoestrogens have a structure similar to estrogen. The anti-soy rhetoric asserts that eating soy will increase the level of hormones in the body and raise your risk for a myriad of disorders. In fact, the opposite is true.

Plant estrogens are 1,000 times weaker than human estrogen. The body is fooled into accepting phytoestrogens, which replace the more powerful human estrogen, thereby reducing the hormones substantially. A high level of estrogen is associated with breast cancer, endometriosis and other serious conditions. Eating soy lowers estrogen levels and has been shown to slow and even prevent the growth of cancer cells.

The Alzheimer’s claim was prompted by The Honolulu Heart Study ³ and was roundly discredited by the scientific community.4 Dr. Lon White did not demonstrate a cause and effect relationship to tofu and further investigation revealed that the tofu the Japanese-American men were consuming contained high levels of aluminum.

Commonly associated with Alzheimer’s, the aluminum was introduced in the processing of the tofu.  According to best selling author and Pulitzer nominee, John Robbins, “dementia rates are lower in Asian countries where soy intake is high, than in the west.”

The anti-soy crowd would have you believe that Asians don’t really eat a lot of soy. From Japan to Indonesia, tofu, soymilk, okara, miso, tempeh, edamame, soy sauce and natto are a regular part of the daily menu. So, what about eating soy as the cause of infertility?

China is the largest and most populous country on earth, having more than 1.3 billion people (July 2008 est.) This Asian giant is the only government in the world that legislates birth control and they invented tofu more than 5,000 years ago.  The skinny on young boys eating soy and sprouting breasts? Never documented.

Obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease and many forms of cancer are closely related to the Standard American Diet (SAD) heavy in saturated fat and cholesterol.5

So, replacing heart-heavy animal products with soy is good for you, right?  Not according to this latest brand of yellow journalism, which claims that soybeans are dangerous and animal products are healthy and nutritious.

To suggest that consuming animal products is healthier than a diet rich in soyfoods, flies in the face of conventional wisdom and common sense.

1. Pew Internet & American Life Project. The Internet as a Resource for News and Information about Science John Horrigan Nov 20, 2006 http://snipr.com/my1jd
2. Anderson, James W.; Johnstone Bryan M.; Cook-Newell, Margaret E. 1995.
   Meta-Analysis of soy protein intake on serum lipids. New England Journal of Medicine. August 3.  333(5)276-282
3. White, L.R. Brain Aging and Midlife Tofu Consumption. J Am. College Nutrition 2000; 19:2;242-255
4. Do soybean products cause brain atrophy in older people? Clare M. Hasler, Ph. D. http://faq.aces.uiuc.edu/faq.pl?project_id=5&faq_id=771
5. A Astrup, B Buemann, P Western, S Toubro, A Raben and NJ Christensen
   Obesity as an adaptation to a high-fat diet: evidence from a cross- sectional study Am J Clin Nutr. 1994 Feb; 59(2): 350-5.